We are glad to inform you that our department of World Economy, Faculty of Economics, St. Petersburg State University, is launching a semester program, "Russia in Global Political and Economic Arena," taught in English.

The program consists of four modules: History and Culture of Russia; Russia in Global Affairs; Economic issues in Contemporary Russia; and Doing business in Russia.

The Virtual Institute's Latin American joint project on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), funded by the Government of Spain, will present its findings on November 19 at a workshop co-organized with Vi Colombian member, EAFIT University.

Researchers from universities in Spain, Uruguay, Colombia and Chile will gather in Medellín to share the results of four of the five research papers included in the Spanish-sponsored project. The discussion will also count with the expertise of Anthony Miller, of UNCTAD's Division on Investment and Enterprise.

The Shridath Ramphal Centre for International Trade Law, Policy and Services (SRC) of the University of the West Indies, in an effort to include more international students in its programmes, is inviting interested persons to apply for its Master's Degree in International Trade Policy (MITP) offered by the SRC.

The University of the West Indies has a long-standing relationship with the Virtual Institute, as Vi study tours are a compulsory element of the MITP. So far the Vi has organized five such tours for UWI.

The School of International Relations in Iran will hold two international conferences during the first trimester of 2010.

The First International Conference on Services Export is scheduled for February 16-17, and the Second International Conference on Renewable Energies for March 2-4. Both events will be held in Tehran.

Experts from UNCTAD and Vi university members are invited to participate in the events and/or to make a presentation on the challenges and opportunities faced by business communities in their respective regions.

The deadline for submission of papers is December 1.

The University of Sao Paulo (USP) has become the Vi's 20th affiliate member and the fourth from Brazil, along with core member, the University of Campinas (UNICAMP), and current affiliates, the Federal University of Viçosa, and the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. USP will participate in the network through its Faculty of Law, a good complement to the work of the other Brazilian members, which focus largely in the area of economics.

USP is a renowned university, which repeatedly obtains high scores in international rankings. With more than 86,000 students, 230 post-graduate programmes, and 296 PhD courses, the university is the largest institution of higher learning and research in Brazil. Among its graduates are a large number of the country’s academics and strategic leaders of the public and private sectors.